The House Guest
by beMMADfabulous
Summary: C.C. must stay at the Sheffield home while her penthouse is being renovated. Unfortunately - or fortunately - for Niles, the Sheffields are going away on a holiday trip, which leaves him home to deal with the Ice Queen herself.
1. And So It Begins

**A/N: I can't believe that I've come up with an idea for a new chapter fic. That pretty much never happens to me. lol. I know that this chapter is short, but please bear with me; it's just the prologue! There will be lots of fun stuff ahead - guaranteed. ;D**

**The House Guest**

**Chapter 1**

**"And So It Begins"**

"Sir, it's not fair!" he argued, a little more loudly than he intended.

"Niles, it's already settled," Maxwell snapped back in his no-nonsense tone. "Miss Babcock is staying here for a few days while her penthouse is being remodeled, and that's final! Besides, you won't have the rest of us to worry with, because I'm taking Fran and the children on a holiday to Martha's Vineyard for a few days."

Niles' posture slumped as his mouth dropped open like a deadweight. It was several moments before he had regained enough cognitive activity in order to form a coherent thought.

"Sir, pardon me, but I /really/ don't think that Miss Babcock and I staying alone in the same house together is such a good idea..."

"Well, then, it's time you two learn how to get along," Maxwell said simply, and Niles knew that was the end of the conversation. "I believe Fran needs help packing the suitcases."

Niles sighed loudly as he turned for the door, still slumped over in his misery and mumbling fiercely under his breath.

A couple of hours and aspirins later, the family's luggage was packed and placed in the trunk of the car, ready to go.

"Hello, hello!" C.C. called as she swept through the front door, pulling a wheeled suitcase and swinging a carry-on bag over her shoulder. "You're leaving already?" she asked Maxwell with a slight pout of her ruby-painted lips.

"Yes, C.C., but Niles can show you where you can put your things."

"I'll show her where she can put them, alright," he grumbled.

C.C. glared at him. Fran elbowed him in the ribs and burst out with a boisterous laugh.

"Try not to kill each other," Fran joked as the family begun to head out the front door.

Niles and C.C. responded with a jumbled chorus of complaints. They stood at the door, waving halfheartedly to the Sheffields as they got into the car and began driving away. When the family was out of sight down the road, C.C. followed Niles back into the mansion. She slammed the door behind them, collapsed back against the glass, and gave a wicked yet equally sensual laugh.

"Niles," she drawled out in a deep voice, "you and are going to have _such _fun together."

Fun... He wasn't sure that his idea of having _fun_ with her was exactly what she had in mind.

**To be continued...**


	2. Dinner: Impossible

**A/N: Yes, I know this ended up not being much longer than the first chapter and that this is coming along a bit slowly, but I'm trying, I promise.**

**The House Guest**

**Chapter 2**

**"Dinner: Impossible"**

"Niles, I'm _hungry_," C.C. practically whined as she burst into the kitchen.

"Well, it'll be a couple of hours yet before dinner is ready. How about a Milk Bone to satisfy you until then? Which flavor would you prefer? Beef? Chicken?"

She snarled at him and headed towards the refrigerator.

"I know Nanny Fine keeps junk food in here," she exclaimed, rummaging through the shelves and pulling open drawers.

He shook his head.

"Sylvia was here this morning. I haven't had time to restock."

C.C.'s face fell, looking as if worried she might actually starve. Niles chuckled.

"There are still some rice cakes in the pantry," he suggested.

She frowned, not at all convinced. If Sylvia wouldn't eat it, C.C. wasn't sure she could.

"Rice cakes?" she repeated.

He nodded as he brought out the pans and cooking utensils to prepare their dinner.

"Spread some peanut butter on them. They're not that bad."

C.C. grumbled as she retrieved the rice cakes and the jar of peanut butter but decided that this had to be better than starvation. She broke off a piece of rice cake, popped it into her mouth, and nearly gagged.

"Niles, they're stale! They taste like cardboard!"

"No, that's how they're supposed to taste," he assured her. "That's why you add the peanut butter."

She did as he said and smeared the peanut butter evenly on the remainder of the rice cake before taking a hesitant bite.

"Oh, great," commented, unamused. "Cardboard covered in peanut butter."

And still, it was better than starvation. With the peanut butter, too, at least it was edible.

C.C. sat on a stool and watched in silent amazement as Niles so skillfully prepared their meal. He caught a glance of her watching him with a smile small on her face and a childlike wonder in her eyes, and he could not help but think that he could get used to this. Oh, if only...

"I have to go shopping after dinner if we're both going to eat at all tomorrow, if you'd like to come along," he told her as he turned off the stove and removed the pots from the stove eyes.

She nodded and watched as he carefully filled their plates with food. She smiled to herself, amazed again that he could perform such a small task with such great flair.

"I'd like that," she replied at last.

"Where would you like to eat?" he asked her as he poured the drinks.

"Here will be fine," she replied, grateful for the chance to finally be able to eat something nourishing. "But where is the servant going to eat?" she prodded jokingly.

Niles ran his tongue slowly over his teeth. C.C. felt an uncharacteristic gloom of dread and regret wash over herself immediately as the flame of anger rose in his eyes. He left the plates and glasses where they were and moved for the door, too hurt and angry to even respond.

C.C. was dumbstruck. She was _stupid_ for ruining the peace between them when they had been having such a fine time together, but she couldn't help but wonder why her insult had affected Niles so much this time, especially when he had insulted her so much worse on so many previous occasions. She felt her cheeks flush hot and began growing angry herself. In an instant, she jumped down from her stool and flew through the door to the living area, just in time to see Niles putting on his coat.

"Where are you going?" she demanded fiercely.

"I already told you I had to go grocery shopping," he responded, the muscles in his neck and shoulders noticeably tense.

Without another word, Niles stormed outside with a violent slam of the front door behind him, leaving C.C. in her place, still fuming and no longer feeling the desire to eat. She sighed loudly, thinking to herself with bitter sarcasm that the offer to accompany Niles shopping apparently no longer stood.

**To be continued...**


	3. The Snoop

**A/N: This would've been posted earlier, but I'm currently having computer problems and am having to upload this using someone else's computer. Please bear with me; I hope and expect that it'll all be fixed soon!**

**The House Guest**

**Chapter 3**

**"The Snoop"**

C.C. prodded her food dismally with her fork. It wasn't that the meal wasn't superb - the food Niles prepared was always exceptional, of course. Rather, her appetite still had not returned to her after their argument, and since then she had developed a distinctly sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. Deciding she had had enough, C.C. pushed her nearly full plate away and headed upstairs to unload her luggage in the guest room.

As soon as C.C. had ascended to the top step of the staircase, a sudden daring curiosity overcame her. Her eyes flitted from the guest bedroom door to Niles' room. She took a few small steps forward and chewed her bottom lip pensively. She had never even seen the inside of his bedroom, after all, and she couldn't imagine that he would ever willingly invite her inside. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder towards the stairs and noted that it should be at least another half hour before Niles returned from shopping. With her heart thumping more rapidly than she thought necessary, C.C. cupped the cool brass doorknob in her hand and twisted it quietly open.

She didn't know what she had been expecting when she turned on the lights, but she was certain that this wasn't it. Niles' room was so small and cold - so unlike the man himself. Not even to mention the fact that the room was kept immaculately tidy, Niles' bedroom barely looked as if it were ever slept in at all, though C.C. knew that this obviously wasn't the case.

C.C. walked silently over to his bed and, as delicately as if caressing a flower petal, smoothed her fingertips over the exposed bed sheet and pillow. A small, sharp breath escaped her as her body suddenly ached to simply lie down in his bed. She closed her eyes for a moment, daring to imagine the feel of Niles' arms wrapped tightly around her and his body pressed lovingly against hers beneath the crisp, chilled sheets and the contrastingly toasty warm blanket. She could now almost physically feel the tingle of his lips touching the bare flesh of her neck as she surrendered herself to the sweet reverie.

Her lips parted slightly as she opened her eyes, refusing for the moment to give light to the negative thoughts threatening to remind her that her fantasies could never, /would/ never be reality. Still, despite the knowledge that she was wrong for snooping in Niles' room, C.C. found herself feeling as though she belonged there somehow... even if she did feel crazy for it.

In her peripheral vision, C.C. spotted what appeared to be the corner of an old photo album sticking out from under the bed. Curious as to why it was there and what it contained, she bent over to pick it up, but her attention was cut short by the sound of the front door being slammed shut. Abandoning her curiosity and taking just a brief moment to make sure that she had put nothing in the room out of place, she quickly fled from the room, remembering to turn out the lights as she left. Once in the hallway, she carefully twisted the doorknob and slowly pulled the door closed to insure that Niles would not hear and somehow recognize where she was. Heart still pounding vigorously in her chest, C.C. made her way down the stairs as calmly as she could pretend to be.

"Let me help you with those," she told a noticeably struggling Niles, taking a couple of bags of groceries from his loaded arms.

"Thank you," he replied smoothly, and by the way he avoided her eyes, C.C. knew that their argument was still on his mind.

She followed him into the kitchen and placed to groceries out on the counter. Just as she was about to help him put away some of the items he had bought, Niles stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to help me," he told her warmly.

"I want to," she replied, dipping her head down as she fought the tingle that spread through her body from his touch.

He released her, and they proceeded to put away the groceries in a tense silence. When almost all the groceries were in their place, Niles cleared his throat and turned to C.C.

"I, um, decided to bake a cake," he said, holding a bag of melting chocolate up between them like a peace offering. "Double chocolate with walnuts?"

C.C.'s eyes lit up, and a small smile graced her face.

"My favorite!" she exclaimed, always amazed that Niles took such care to remember her favorites. That was just all apart his job, perhaps, but it had a way of making her feel special anyway.

"You didn't eat dinner?" he asked with a frown, noting her forgotten plate of food.

She glanced at the plate as an excuse to avert her eyes from him.

"No, I wasn't very hungry once you left..."

"I thought you were starving before dinner."

She nodded.

"You didn't get to eat either," she stated, turning her back to him. "Maybe we could eat together?"

Truthfully, they were both nearly ravenous with hunger, as their appetites had suddenly returned with full force.

"I'd like that," Niles replied, eager to put their past argument behind them. "Have a seat," he told her, "and I'll reheat our dinner."

"Then after dinner, you'll make the cake?" she suggested hopefully.

Niles chuckled as he warmed their food.

"Of course."

"Can I lick the spoon?" she asked, eagerly like a child.

Before he had really taken a moment to /think/ before he spoke, Niles simply replied:

"You can lick anything you want."

**To be continued...  
**


	4. A Taste of Chocolate

**A/N: It has been over a year and a half since I have updated this story. I can't promise that I will be able to update it again any time soon, but parts of this chapter have been saved as notes on my phone for a very long time now, and I always knew I wanted to return to this story. Don't worry, there are parts of the next chapter still saved on my phone from that long ago too. I still haven't given up on this story. I will always love these two.**

**Chapter 4**

"**A Taste of Chocolate"**

"_You can lick anything you want._"

Niles watched as C.C. slipped her chocolate-covered index finger into her mouth and sucked it to remove the sweetness, ending with a gentle _pop_ as she removed her finger from her lips. He quickly turned away and swallowed hard, desperately fighting the pulling sensation emerging at his groin area.

"I'm finished," C.C. announced after a few more moments of stirring the chocolate pieces in the pot until they were fully melted into a thin, consistent liquid.

Niles gave a satisfied nod as he returned from chopping walnuts to inspect her work.

"Very good," he complimented. "Now put on this apron, and you can help me mix it all together."

C.C. made a face as she reluctantly accepted the apron from him.

"Do I _have_ to?" she practically whined.

"As domestic as it seems," he told her, "yes, you do. I refuse to spend all evening removing cake batter from your fake silk blouse."

"This is _not_ fake silk, I'll have you know!"

Niles rolled his eyes yet instinctively stepped behind her to tie the apron strings after she had slipped it over her body. C.C. held her breath as his fingers nervously fumbled with the strings at the nape of her neck. He couldn't help but take note of how right she looked in his kitchen, wearing his apron - no matter how ridiculously and obviously unacceptable that certainly would have sounded to her. She outwardly scowled as she looked down at the apron, but somehow she felt a hidden thrill spread through her body as the realization struck her that she was wearing _his_ apron; it even still smelled of him.

"I'll pour in the walnuts, and you stir," Niles instructed.

C.C. was silent as he stood dangerously close to her, his elbow gently nudging hers as he moved to sprinkle the walnuts into the chocolate cake batter. She concentrated intently upon the stirring in an attempt to ignore the nearness of him and the deep longing he elicited within her.

"That'll do," he spoke gently at last, placing his hand lightly on her arm.

His rumbling voice next to her ear made her shiver. She stopped stirring and released the spoon, watching as he dipped his finger into the mix as she had before. Niles lifted his finger to his lips, but she caught his wrist to stop him before he had managed to taste the batter. Pulling him closer to her, C.C. caught his eye and flashed a wicked grin before she closed her mouth over his finger and removed the chocolate with a swirl of her tongue. He could not control the low moan that escaped from his lips, his eyes widening at her as she slowly drew her lips from his finger.

"You said I could lick anything I want..."

**To be continued**


	5. Seduction Before Lunchtime

**A/N: The first paragraph of this chapter has been on my phone for almost a year and a half. I don't know where I had planned on taking the chapter after that (or if I really had any distinct plans at all), but I definitely didn't have this in mind! I couldn't sleep, and I suddenly got inspired for this (very quick) chapter, so here you go.**

**Seduction Before Lunchtime**

C.C. woke with a jolt but was nearly halfway in a seated position before she was truly alert. She had smelled Niles' warm, masculine scent all around her in a dizzying attack to her olfactory system, and only after a moment's clarity did she remember that it was her sheets that had carried his scent so strongly. She dipped her head back onto the headboard and sighed as she thought back to the hauntingly vivid dreams of last night. She had had dreams of that sort before, of course, always about him, but these were almost too real. Her whole body still tingled with the sensations... She had to get a grip; she knew that if she didn't, she wouldn't be able to make it through the day, and she _certainly_ wouldn't be able to face him.

As soon as C.C. began descending the staircase, she regretted her decision to wear only her nightgown and a robe in front of Niles, but truth be told, she was too hungry to worry with things like showers and proper attire before she had eaten a filling breakfast. She started to tighten her robe even closer around her, but she stopped herself before she did so, thinking of Niles and what his reaction would be to seeing her in her nightclothes. It was nowhere as provocative as any of Nanny Fine's outfits, but she found the idea of him seeing her in a loosened robe and not much underneath to be quite thrilling...

"Good morning," C.C. called as she swept into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Niles replied, turning from the stove to face her.

His eyes widened slightly at the sight of her in her silky black robe. His mouth ran dry, and he nearly dropped the pan of sizzling bacon that he had just finished cooking. C.C. felt somewhat uncomfortable as Niles' eyes flittered over her. She wasn't revealing much, but the contrast of the shiny black material against her creamy bare skin captivated his imagination.

She wished he would say something rather than stand gaping at her in a manner that she wasn't certain was positive. She feared he found the sight of her this way to be repulsive...

"How did you sleep?" she asked at last.

"Pleasurably."

He shut his eyes tightly at his flagrant error.

"_Pleasantly_," he quickly corrected himself. "I slept _pleasantly_."

With her former doubts now banished, a smirk formed at C.C.'s lips as heat flushed to Niles' face and neck. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn he had experienced the same "pleasant" dreams she had.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, careful to avoid eye contact with her.

"Mmm, very," C.C. replied, hoping she sounded as ambiguous as she had intended.

She didn't know what had gotten into herself. Seducing the butler before noon? This was not like her at all, but she had to admit that she relished in the way that Niles looked distinctly as if he would collapse as she "accidentally" dropped her napkin and she reached down to pick it up, making sure that he caught a delectable view of her chest as she did so.

After breakfast, which was spent in a somewhat tense silence, C.C. announced that she would go upstairs and take a nice, hot shower, leaving Niles with a few images to ponder over as she hurried back up the stairs, laughing softly so that he would not hear.

If she was going to have to spend all day in the house, the least she could do was create a little fun for herself.

**To be continued...**

**(Reviews are greatly appreciated.)**


	6. Fun?

**A/N: This is a very short chapter that is brought to you by the sheer fact that I just can't seem to get to sleep tonight.**

**Fun?**

C.C.'s smile was smug as she descended the stairs for the second time that day. This time, she was freshly showered and wore a pair of clean-cut blue jeans and a form-fitting black blouse. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stood still, her arms crossed before her, as she watched Niles vacuum the carpet with his back toward her. Her smile widened as he turned off the vacuum but was still oblivious to her presence.

"Hello, hello," she said in a low, playful voice.

He turned quickly to face her and barely caught a gasp before it escaped from his throat as his eyes drank in her appearance. He tried not to stare, but the way her jeans hugged her hips and her shirt accented every luscious curve toyed with his inhibitions.

"Have a nice shower?" he asked stupidly as he nervously busied himself with the vacuum cord.

"Mmhm," she replied with a grin. "It was wonderful."

A moment passed between them as C.C. simply stood and watched Niles attempt to keep himself occupied so that he would not have to look her directly in the eye.

"So what do you do for fun around here, Butler Boy," C.C. asked, pausing to blow a strand of hair out of her face, "I mean, besides torture me and smoke Maxwell's cigars? I'm _bored_."

He shrugged.

"I don't have much time for fun."

Although he said this is a matter-of-fact tone, C.C. couldn't help but feel sorry for him that he spent so much time taking care of a family that showed little gratitude in return.

"Well, then make something up," she replied in a light tone that she hoped would give no indication of her sympathy. "What do normal people do for fun?"

Niles raised his eyebrow at her in a way that clearly expressed that he didn't quite think of the two of them together as "normal" by any stretch of the imagination.

"We could play cards," he suggested lamely.

C.C. hissed disdainfully at this suggestion.

"You really are new to this 'fun' thing, aren't you?" she teased.

Niles shrugged.

"We could watch a movie."

She sighed loudly at this but did concede to herself that watching a movie alone with him could have a few potential benefits...

"Fine," she replied, to Niles' surprise, "but I get to choose."

He smirked at her.

"I'll get the popcorn."

**To be continued**


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